A Night to Remember
by jaredplaidalecki
Summary: Percy and Annabeth's prom night started out as any other. But as usual, things don't go exactly as planned. One-shot.


**Hey guys! This is my first story, here on fanfiction (ahh!), so I hope you enjoy! And constructive criticism is always welcome, so don't be afraid if you want to leave it in the reviews! Thanks for stopping by! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, as they are Rick Riordan's lovely creation**

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It wasn't Percy's fault that the stymphalian birds were gaining on them. In fact, it wasn't even his fault that they were in this situation in the first place. He looked down at his hands, which were full of gross mucus-y stuff from the broken bird eggs.

Okay, maybe it was _slightly_ his fault. He glanced over at Annabeth, who shot him a glare. Usually, he would like to think she would laugh this off, but not tonight. He dodged another feather-arrow as they rounded the corner.

"Up ahead!" She called. There was an old, abandoned building, and on the side, a boxed up cellar, with a stairway leading down to the basement. A little beyond the building was a wharf, which Percy could barely see through the fog. But he could feel the power of the ocean, regardless. He nodded to Annabeth, and they knew what to do without having to utter a single word.

Annabeth ran for the cellar, while Percy turned to face the oncoming flock of demon pigeons. "Alright. Looks like its time for your bath!" Percy could practically see Annabeth's eye roll from behind him. He smiled, and then drew power and strength from the ocean. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead, and it took all he had to control enough water to douse the birds. They started to caw-but not the annoying caw of any other bird. No, these things made a sound like glass scraping on glass as Percy threw wave after wave at them. When enough birds had fled, Percy turned and ran back to Annabeth. She had pried the wooden cellar doors open, and was peering down the dark staircase.

"We're going to need-"

"A flashlight?" Annabeth finished. She pulled her phone from her purse, which remained impressively intact, and turned the flashlight app on. Percy glanced over his shoulder to see the remaining birds were getting uncomfortably close.

They hopped into the dark passage, closing the heavy doors behind them, and began descending the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Percy found a light bulb hanging from the ceiling. He pulled the string, illuminating the whole room. There wasn't much down there. A few wooden chairs, a small window near the ceiling, a work bench with a couple of rusty tools, and a dusty stereo in the corner that looked like it came straight from the 90s.

Annabeth collapsed on one of the chairs, and Percy followed suit.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Percy finally broke it. "I'm really, _really_ sorry, Annabeth. This isn't how tonight was supposed to go at all." He looked at his girlfriend under the harsh light. Her blonde curls, once done up in a sort of half-up half-down style, were caked with blood and dirt, and fell in a mess around her shoulders. Her face, which was previously beautifully made up, was reduced to a series of scrapes and bruises. But Percy thought the worst was her dress. She had a girl from the Aphrodite cabin custom make it-it was grey, the exact color of her eyes, and easily the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen her wear. Now it was shredded and dirty. It also used to touch the floor, but Annabeth had to use her dagger to cut it up to her knees to help her run. He had no idea where or when her shoes went, but she was barefoot and dirt caked her feet. Percy's tux was also ripped to the point of no return. He only had one sleeve on his suit jacket, but he didn't know when exactly that had happened. Basically, it was the worst prom night ever. And, admittedly, all his stupid, seaweed-brained fault.

He looked up at Annabeth, expecting her to hit him. For some reason, she had been really hyped about the whole "Senior Prom" deal. But she just started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Percy asked. "Isn't this supposed to be 'A Night To Remember' and all that?" Had Annabeth finally lost it? They had been just about to enter the school, when Percy slipped and fell into the nest of stymphalian bird eggs, breaking a bunch of them, and seriously angering the flock. He didn't get what was so hilarious about that besides the fact that he was a major screw up.

Annabeth stopped long enough to speak. "Its just, this is so typically us, you know?"

"What?"

"Of course we wouldn't be able to go to something as _normal_ as prom. Nope. The main event of our prom night was being chased by monsters. And now here we are. Sitting in some abandoned cellar, looking like we just walked out of a disaster movie, and if that doesn't scream "Percy and Annabeth" to you, then I don't know what does." She tucked a few stray curls behind her ear. "And this night has been pretty memorable so far."

Percy started to laugh then, too. "So you're not mad?"

"I was. But now? It's just you, and me on a beautiful night, and we're both alive. What more could I ask for?" Percy smiled.

"Music?" He said. "What's prom night without a dance?" Percy walked over to the stereo.

Annabeth sighed. "That thing has got to be at least 25 years old. Its not going to-" The sound of static filled the small space.

"Its battery operated. See?" Percy pointed at the open battery compartment. "Now there have to be some CD's or cassettes or something around here somewhere." He went over to the workbench, and started searching around. Annabeth let out a celebratory whoop from behind him.

"Found some!" Annabeth took a CD from a box full of CDs and cassettes, and stuck it in the stereo. She turned up the volume, as Percy slid the box back under the workbench.

A slow melody came from the stereo. "Is this The Beatles?" Percy asked.

"I don't think so," Annabeth came to stand next to Percy in the center of the room. "But it'll just have to do." She smiled, and put her arms around Percy's neck. Percy wrapped his around her waist.

"I'm so glad I finally past you." Percy said, smug.

"What?"

"Well when we were younger, I was afraid I would always be shorter than you. But look at me now." He smirked, and Annabeth punched his shoulder.

The moon started to shine through a small window near the ceiling. As they danced to the music, Percy had never felt so content. He looked down at his girlfriend. "You look gorgeous tonight."

"Yeah right," Annabeth retorted with a snort, "I'm a mess."

Percy just shook his head. He didn't care that she was streaked with blood and dirt. He didn't care that her dress was practically in ruins. He didn't care because she was Annabeth, and Annabeth was always beautiful, post-battle and all. He kept smiling, and pulled her closer as they continued to sway to the music.

"You know, even though it all went wrong, I think in a way, this was the perfect prom night." Percy said.

Annabeth laughs. "Of course you do, Seaweed Brain." There was a small pause, where neither of them said anything, and just listened to the song as they danced. Then, Annabeth spoke again. "I love you." She said quietly, her face buried into Percy's chest.

Percy kissed the top of her head. "I love you too." He whispered. "And happy graduation."

"Happy graduation."


End file.
